Pinion angle is the
difference between the driveshaft angle and the
pinion angle on the differential.
See bottom of page for pinion angle recommendations

To measure it you must be able to work under the car with thesuspension fully loaded and the car level. You can place jack stands
under the rear-end and under the front control arms (as close to the ball joint
as possible). A drive on lift will also
work for this.

There are two easy ways to
measure your pinion, depending on the measuring device you have.

Protractor Measuring Device

Using an angle
measuring gauge (adjustable protractor) to measure the difference between the
pinion flange and the drive shaft directly. These gauges are available for
under $10 from a hardware store.

Place the edge of the gauge vertically against
the front of the pinion flange, beside the driveshaft.

Extend the measuring arm
forward parallel to the bottom of the driveshaft.

Extend a straight edge under
the driveshaft to the measuring arm of the angle gauge.

Hold the straight edge
flat against the bottom of the driveshaft and adjust the measuring arm to read
the angle.

Depending on the gauge you use, you may have to subtract 90° from
your reading to get the correct number.

Your final measurement should be
between 0 and 5.

Examine the diagram at the bottom to determine if the pinion angle is nose up or
nose down.

Angle Finder Measure
Device (Gravity type)

Using a gravity angle
gauge (Available at hardware stores) to measure the angle between the driveshaft
and the ground & the pinion flange and the ground.

Hold the gauge on the
bottom of the driveshaft. Align the gauge front-to-back under the car in line
with the driveshaft and read the number from the gauge (Note if angle is up{+}
or down{-}). Write down this number.

Next, hold the side of the
gauge against the front of the pinion flange (beside the driveshaft).
Write down this
number (Note if angle is up{+} or down{-}).

Subtract the first
number from the second number. This is your pinion angle

Examine the
diagram at the bottom to determine if the pinion angle is nose up or nose down.

Pinion Angle
Recommendations:

Suspension

Recommended Angle

Using
Full Wolfe Race Craft
Suspension - all solid
mounting points.

-1 to
-1.5

Half
Solid & Half Poly
Mounting points

-1.5- to
-2.5

All Poly
mounting points

-2.5 to
-3.5

All
Rubber mounting points

-3 to
-4.5

The more you get away
from having all solid
mounting points the more
the rearend is going to
try and rotate upward
during launch. Therefore
the more angle you must
start with to prevent
the angle from becoming
positive (+). The idea
is that when the rearend
rotates you want the
angle between the
driveshaft and the
pinion would be 0.